Township council approves routine business, appoints volunteer firefighter and adopts housing-administration documents

At the March 9 meeting the Township Council approved a series of routine and administrative items grouped on the consent agenda and in separate motions.

Appointment and routine approvals: The council confirmed the appointment of Jaseel Delaso to the Township of Washington Volunteer Fire Department; the oath was administered. The council authorized payment of bills for the period 01/29/2026 through 03/05/2026 (Resolution 26-171) and approved refunds and escrow releases as listed under the consent agenda.

Shared services and operational items: Resolutions authorized shared-service agreements for secure high-speed fiber with Bergen County and for the purchase/sale of brine with the Borough of Hawthorne to support winter road operations. DPW-related contracts for street sweeping with Emerson and other operational measures were approved. Members discussed prior arrangements and noted the township had purchased brine from a private supplier that has since stopped providing service.

Housing-administration documents: As part of implementing the endorsed housing plan, the council adopted an affirmative-marketing plan and related administrative documents (resolutions 26-195 through 26-198, including the administrative-agent operating manual, affordability-assistance manual, and an amended affordable-housing trust-fund spending plan). Council members discussed whether local priorities such as veteran preference could be advanced; attorneys said some developer-agreement language and marketing choices are possible but core marketing priorities are governed by state rules.

Votes at a glance: Resolutions on the consent agenda and individual administrative resolutions were approved by roll call; two separate engineering-threshold resolutions (26-176 and 26-177) passed with a recorded "no" vote from one council member on each. The council designated a township public-notices tab and link to the state public-notice web page in compliance with the new law going into effect March 1, 2026 (Resolution 26-181).

Next steps: The administrative housing documents adopted at tonight's meeting will operate alongside the council's endorsement of the amended housing element; technical and design approvals remain subject to future planning- and zoning-board reviews when developers submit formal applications.